THOUSANDS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL PROTEST MOSQUE BOMBING;

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HILLAH 000026

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL PINR IZ
SUBJECT: THOUSANDS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL PROTEST MOSQUE BOMBING;
SADRISTS BLAME U.S., AL-SISTANI PREACHES CALM

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SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION


1. (U) Summary: Iraqis across the South Central region took to
the streets February 22, angrily protesting the bombing of the
Al-Askariyah Mosque in Samarra. Reportedly spontaneous at first,
the demonstrations were soon spurred on by mosque exhortations
and organized by Shi'a government officials, political parties
and militias. Sadrists blamed U.S. forces and Ambassador Zalmay
Khalilzad for the bombing, and rumors spread from Samarra to
Najaf that U.S. forces were the culprits. Grand Ayatollah Ali
Al-Sistani and other senior Najaf clerics declared a period of
mourning and preached calm, Iraqi Police scrambled to maintain
order and protect Sunni mosques, and the demonstrations
reportedly remained mostly peaceful. Protesters attacked a Sunni
mosque in Karbala and killed a Sunni in Al-Hillah. There were
unconfirmed reports of the killing of another Sunni in
Diwaniyah. Contacts reported that demonstrations would likely
continue February 23. End summary.

NAJAF CLERICS CALL FOR CALM, ARMED SADRISTS ASSEMBLE
-------------- --------------


2. (SBU) By midday February 22, Najaf Iraqi Police (IP) Chief
Abdul Abbas Mu'adal reported that "thousands" had already
gathered in downtown Najaf for a demonstration set to begin at
3 p.m. and that the city was "boiling." The Provincial Council
issued a statement denouncing "the crime" and declared a
seven-day mourning period and the closure of government offices
for three days. Local contacts reported angry crowds gathering
around the Old City home of Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, and
mosques, ambulances, and cars with loudspeakers called for more
people to gather near Sistani's home.


3. (SBU) According to press reports, after an afternoon meeting
between senior Najaf clerics Sistani, Shaykh Ishaq Al-Fayadh,
Shaykh Bashir Al-Najafi, and Sayid Mohammed Saeed Al-Hakim,
Sistani and Al-Hakim each issued statements condemning the
bombing and announcing a seven-day mourning period. Sistani
instructed the people to remain calm, refrain from attacking
Sunni holy places, and to demonstrate peacefully. Ammar
Al-Hakim, the son of Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution
in Iraq (SCIRI) leader Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, led the
demonstration in downtown Najaf. Rumors reported by Najaf
contacts say that busloads of Mahdi Militia began traveling to
Samarra, and that the U.S. is responsible for the attack on the
Al-Askariyah Shrine. The rumor states that gold pieces of the
shrine's dome were found on rooftops all over the city of
Samarra, a level of destruction that could only have been
accomplished by American munitions.


4. (SBU) Unarmed members of the Mahdi Militia blocked all roads
leading into Najaf, and hundreds gathered outside Moqtada
Al-Sadr's house. By evening, local staff reported that about 500
heavily armed Mahdi Militia members, carrying AK-47s and
rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs),assembled around Sadr's house.
Militiamen blocked all roads feeding downtown Najaf's
Revolutionary Square, and banners hung there read, "Take Revenge
for the Imam Mahdi" and "Yes to Islam, No to Saddam." Sadrists
gathered elsewhere, in the city's Al-Judodah Quarter,
anticipating another demonstration to continue towards the Old
City and Sistani's home. Local staff reported that shaykhs from
the Bani Hassan and Al-Ghazali tribes met at Sadr's house with
Sahib Al-Ameeri, the director of Shaheed Allah, an organization
affiliated with Sadr. Local staff heard unconfirmed reports of a
grenade attack directed at a house near Sadr's that wounded two
bystanders.

TWO PROTESTS ROIL KARBALA; SADRISTS, SARKHIS BLAME U.S.
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5. (SBU) Exhorted by announcements from the twin shrines of
Imams Hussein and Abbas and other mosques, protesters gathered
after midday prayers on February 22 in downtown Karbala.
Contacts variously reported "800 to 1,000," and "thousands" of
demonstrators, including students, government employees and
police. Mahdi Militia members also joined the demonstration.
Governor Aqeel Al-Khaz'ali declared a three-day mourning period
and the closure of all shops and government offices. Karbala
Deputy Provincial Council (PC) Chairman Abdul Al Ali Yasseen
related that protestors chanted that the bombing was the result
of collaboration between U.S. forces and terrorists. Some
reportedly called for jihad and revenge. Both the Governor and
the PC Chairman, Shaykh Aqeel Fahim Hussein, spoke at the
protest. The Governor reportedly counseled self-discipline and
warned protestors that the bombing was meant to foment a civil
war. Deputy PC Chairman Yasseen said that political leaders and
clerics were able to maintain calm. IP Chief Colonel Razzak Abed
Ali said that the police monitored the protest, maintained the
peace and were heavily deployed throughout the city. The U.S.
military reported that Sadrists threw rocks at American Humvees
parked outside the Karbala Governorate Center.

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6. (SBU) A second protest, larger than the first, began around 4
p.m. between the Hussein and Abbas Shrines, and lasted for about
an hour and a half, local contacts reported. The Governor, IP
Chief, and several PC members were present. Mahdi militia
members and followers of radical Shi'a cleric Mahmoud Al-Hassani
Al-Sarkhy joined the protest in large numbers, chanting "No, no,
America." Protestors carried banners reading, "We all sacrifice
ourselves for our Imams," and "Let us get our Prophet's
revenge." Local staff reported that Sadrists and Sarkhis blamed
the attack on the U.S. and "Zionists" hoping to ignite a civil
war. Rumors also offered that U.S. forces shelled the shrine,
reasoning that Sunnis have lived near the mosque for hundreds of
years, and if they had intended to attack the shrine they would
have already done so.


7. (SBU) What is reportedly Karbala's only Sunni mosque was
attacked by protestors, although accounts conflicted about the
nature and extent of the attack. IP sources reported that
demonstrators attacked the mosque but were turned away by an IP
SWAT team. Another contact related that the Governor went to the
mosque to help secure it. A third account, likely the most
accurate, maintained that a group of angry young men broke into
the mosque, and broke doors, windows and furniture before being
stopped by neighboring shopkeepers.

MASSIVE PROTESTS, ONE KILLING, CONCERN BABIL OFFICIALS
-------------- ---


8. (SBU) Demonstrators from across Babil travelled to Al-Hillah
throughout the day February 22 for a protest that lasted until
late afternoon, local contacts and Babil officials related.
Mosque loudspeakers announced the protest, and Iraqi Police and
demonstrators both blocked major streets leading into the city,
police contacts said. Some protestors reportedly chanted, "Down,
down, Israel." One local contact reported seeing armed Sadrists
among the throng. Babil PC Chairman Mohammed Ali Masoudi said
that he was concerned about the province's ability to maintain
order, but that things were "so far under control" as of
mid-afternoon. He said that PC members had been calling
representatives of the Shi'a religious parties, urging calm and
seeking assurances that their members would not attack Sunni
mosques. Masoudi also reported rumors that Sadrists were forming
groups to travel to Samarra.


9. (SBU) Police officials, concerned about the safety of Sunni
mosques in Al-Hillah, detailed police and SWAT teams to protect
them. Babil Deputy Police Chief Colonel Abbas Al-Jobory reported
that two police pick-up trucks and ten SWAT team members had
taken positions guarding each Sunni mosque. IP Chief General
Qais Hamza Aboud Al-Mahmori reported that he would personally
lead patrols around the Sunni areas of Al-Hillah, both to
protect the Sunni areas and, he said, to be on guard against
possible attacks by Sunnis against the demonstrators. In the
evening of February 22, local contacts reported that two armed
men went to the home of a Sunni ex-Baathist in Al-Hillah and
shot and killed the man.

ONE REPORTED DEATH, DRIVE-BY ATTACKS IN DIWANIYAH PROTESTS
--------------


10. (SBU) Crowds estimated by some local observers to number
into the tens of thousands surged through downtown Diwaniyah
beginning at midday and lasting late into the afternoon.
Diwaniyah Governor Khalil Jalil Hamza Al-Hamdawi called the REO
just before noon and advised REO staff to cancel a planned visit
to the Governorate Center that day, explaining that it could
"exacerbate the situation." (Note: The Governor volunteered to
visit the REO instead, when he had a chance. End note.) In an
interview, a Sadrist official told a Diwaniyah journalist that
U.S. Ambassador Khalilzad, Baathists, and takfiris had arranged
the attack. A local contact reported that an angry mob killed
one Sunni and injured another, and that there were RPG attacks
against individuals in Sunni neighborhoods. An IP source
confirmed the RPG attacks and blamed the Mahdi Militia. (Note:
The killing has not been independently confirmed, although the
source e-mailed photos of a mob containing armed Sadrists
beating a man as a policeman and an Iraqi soldier stood by. End
note.)


11. (SBU) Demonstrators closed most of the roads leading into
the city, a local contact reported. Mosque loudspeakers blared
throughout the demonstration and protesters chanted "No, no, no
to America. No, no, no to terrorism. No, no, no to
transgressions." Sadrists and Sarkhis reportedly made up a large
contingent of the protest, and carried banners that read, "We
deny this cowardly act which was carried out by the atheists,
who are led by the Occupation Forces." Women and children joined
the protest, a contact related. An IP source reported that
police had spread out around the demonstration and across the
city to maintain peace and prevent attacks against Sunnis.

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SHI'A PARTIES LEAD PROTESTS IN WASIT, WATCHED BY ARMY, IP
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12. (SBU) By midday, thousands of demonstrators had begun
marching from the Provincial Council (PC) building to the
Governorate Center complex (GC) in Al-Kut, local staff reported.
Iraqi Army (IA) and police provided security along the route.
Protesters carried banners reading, "Death for the Wahabbis,"
"Death for the Infidels," and "Death for Saddam and his
Comrades." A Wasit journalist related that mosques called for
political parties to gather at the GC, and that the mosque
announcements blamed the U.S. and Israel for the Al-Askariyah
bombing.


13. (SBU) Ahmed Al-Hakim, Wasit SCIRI Head, said that he had
told SCIRI members to prepare for protests all day and the next
day, February 23. He said that he had instructed both SCIRI and
Badr Organization members to follow Sistani's instructions not
to assault Sunni mosques, but offered that he could not predict
whether Sadrists would follow these instructions. Wasit Sistani
Representative Habib Al-Khatib related that he had addressed a
second demonstration, also reportedly numbering in the
thousands, in Al-Numaniyah, outside Kut. He said that he offered
the crowd Sistani's condolences, and admonished them to follow
the instructions of the Marja'iyah to demonstrate peacefully and
not harm Sunni mosques.


14. (SBU) General Mohammed Jawad, the commander of the Second
Battalion, Eighth Division of the IA, reported that he had
deployed his troops in Kut and outside the city to secure
buildings and property. He said that the IA was cooperating with
the IP on securing Sunni mosques in Kut. Qasim Al-Arijay, Wasit
Badr Organization Deputy and the chairman of the PC security
committee, said that he had worked to coordinate police and army
protection of Sunni shrines. He added that he was told by Badr
headquarters to place the Wasit Badr Organization "on alert." He
predicted that Sadrists would soon begin to attack Sunni mosques
across the province.


15. (SBU) Comment: Given the massive size of demonstrations
across the region, and the apparent depth of Shi'a anger, early
reports of two killings and a small number of beatings and
ransackings shows considerable restraint. The actions of Iraqi
Police and Iraqi Army to monitor the demonstrations and protect
Sunni areas may indicate a maturation amongst the Iraqi security
services. That Mahdi Militia members were reportedly responsible
for some of the violence and much of the extreme rhetoric,
however, reveals that Iraqi security forces remain unwilling or
unable to effectively contain this group. Increasingly fervent
and widespread demonstrations are likely to continue region-wide
after Friday prayers on February 24. End comment.
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